And when it comes to its engine and six-speed gearbox, the Citroën makes an extremely convincing case for itself beside any rival, including its Mitsubishi cousin. The C-Crosser uses the same 2.2-litre HDi unit found in the Outlander and 4007, among others. It produces 156bhp at 4000rpm and a solid 280lb ft at 2000rpm, and it is unusually clean for such a torquey off-road powerplant, producing just 190g/km of CO2.

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The C-Crosser is identical to the Outlander mechanically, featuring a part-time four-wheel drive system that can be engaged merely by rotating an iDrive-like knob down by the gearlever. This engages a series of sensors that detect wheel slip, steering angle and road speed to apportion however much torque to the rear wheels the system sees fit.

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Suspension is by struts and coil springs at the front and what Citroën ambitiously describes as a multi-link arrangement at the rear. (In fact, there are only four links, not five, the number normall associated with "multi-link".) The C-Crosser’s spring and dampers rates are bespoke compared with those of the Outlander and 4007, but the rack-and-pinion power steering and all-round disc braking systems are identical.